UK could see the ‘age of the apprentice’ thanks to reforms!

According to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) the government’s apprenticeship reforms could bring about the ‘age of the apprentice’, giving them equal status in society just as with university degrees.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, explained: “Apprenticeships simply don’t have the status they deserve. The government’s latest apprenticeship reforms are a positive step – in particular, giving legal protection to the term ‘apprenticeship’ should help tackle its blatant misuse by some organisations. High quality apprenticeships should be viewed by society just as favourably as university degrees.

“The government’s target of three million additional apprenticeships over the coming five years is suitably ambitious but reforms are required to ensure that these are actually delivered. As construction accounts for around seven per cent of GDP, it means our sector should be responsible for around 210,000 of these apprenticeships, which equates to 42,000 a year over the next parliament. Given that the industry only achieved 16,000 in 2013/14, there is a lot of work to be done.

“The government is also right to say that it must practice what it preaches when it comes to training apprentices. Not only should schools, hospitals, prisons and police forces train more apprentices, government must also get better at driving apprenticeship training through public sector contracts.”

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